Disclaimer: I don’t know why I still have this here, because I’ve already made it clear in every other chapter.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier
Epilogue: Aftermath
Location: Nirvana, in orbit around Solaris.
The battle for Solaris was pretty much over. The rebels had been defeated, with only a few of them left. It had been close. What was left was being mopped up by the surviving Solaris Defense Force fleet. At least that was how much she’d been told on her way back to the Nirvana. Meia now debarked from her Dread down to the cargo bay floor. Still dressed in the sensor mesh from the powered armor, and a cut on the right side of her face that she’d failed to notice until now, she looked somewhat out of place.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she saw Misty run up to her and nearly tackled her to the ground. When Misty looked up, she had tears in her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”
“Misty…” she replied, as she put a hand on Misty’s head, comforting her. “I missed you too.”
She looked up to see several people she knew, including Maria, and it appeared that her hair was shorter. After they all welcomed her back, Maria walked up to her, a somewhat worried expression on her face. “Where is Aidan? Wasn’t he with you?”
“He was, but he told me leave,” she said. “He said that he would find his own way out.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense,” Maria replied.
Letting out a small sigh, she told Maria and all the others what she and Aidan had been through, omitting one small detail near the end, which she intended to keep to herself and Aidan, if, no, when he came back. She refused to think that he was dead.
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Lieutenant Thomas “Eagle-Eye” Ingram, sat at the controls of his Striker, part of a team that was guarding one of the transports that was looking for survivors. He was only twenty-two, but had seen some of the heaviest fighting during this civil war. He was wounded in an earlier battle, and as a result, lost his left eye. The medics had replaced it with a cybernetic eye, and returned back to active service. As his artificial looks cold and lifeless, he had been nicknamed “Eagle-Eye.” It also had something to with his excellent gunnery skill.
He kept watch, so as any straggler couldn’t pick off the transport. His gaze fell onto a battered but apparently disabled fighter. From the look of it, it was an enemy. Deeming it no threat, he took his eyes off of it, turning his Striker away from it. Just that second, the seemingly dead fighter kicked on it’s thrusters and shot off in a direction away from him. Seeing it suddenly appear on his scanners, he turned his Striker back around.
“We’ve got a live one here!” he shouted into his comm. “Permission to engage!”
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Meia, finally out of the sensor mesh, and back into her original Dread pilot uniform, stood in front of the Captain and BC, when, while in the middle of explaining herself, they were interrupted by a shout over the commline, from the way it sounded, it was from an enemy soldier, and it was filled with contempt.
“You heretics can all just DIE!”
“Captain! Enemy fighter heading this way! I think he intends to ram us!” an alarmed Belvedere said, as she brought up the image.
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After being released to engage, Lance Ingram immediately kicked on his Striker’s back-mounted thrusters and bolted after the speeding fighter. The fighter appeared to be heading straight for the Mejalean ship, apparently hell-bent on ramming with it. Since the fighter wasn’t attempting to make any evasive maneuvers, he locked onto it rather easily. Before he could fire, a pair of lasers cored into the body of the fighter, followed quickly by another pair. He looked up to see a black Striker, firing lasers from the dual mounts on either of it’s arms. It was definitely a Striker, although it looked different, it looked more aerodynamic, more menacing. Moving at incredible speeds, it landed on the back of the fighter. With one hand, the Striker kept a grip on the fighter, and it had what appeared to be a knife in the other. With a deft move, the Striker thrust the white-hot knife downward, into the cockpit of the fighter. After killing it’s victim, the Striker let go of the fighter as it went out of control, spinning off course.
“Identify yourself,” he said into his commlink, aiming his rifle at the unknown soldier.
“Hold your fire, I’m on your side,” the pilot replied. “Captain Aidan Mercer, 4th Special Forces Detachment.”
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As the commlink that was used by Ingram was not available to the crew of the Nirvana, they had no way of knowing that the Striker pilot they saw destroy the fighter had been Aidan. Magno watched as the Striker turned and faced them. Suddenly, the communication system crackled to life.
“Permission to come aboard?” asked a familiar voice.
Magno recognized the voice as belonging to Aidan Mercer. When she glanced over, she saw that Meia failed to completely hide her shock. She briefly wondered what had gone on between those two while they were gone. After several long seconds, she replied.
“Permission granted.”
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Meia was both surprised and relieved upon hearing Aidan’s voice. Surprised, because she had briefly thought that he might have died, because when he made her leave, there were several enemy soldiers closing in around him. And then she heard the explosion a few moments after she blasted free of the hangar. She was relieved upon finding that he had gotten out alive.
She watched as the Striker lowered down into a kneeling position. A few seconds later there was a hiss as the cockpit hatch in the chest of the mecha opened, and Aidan exited. He stood there and took off his helmet. He jumped down off the leg and onto the ground. She briefly recalled the first time she saw his face, after he had removed his helmet on the Artemis. He walked through the crowd until he was standing right in front of her.
“I told you,” was all he said, but she knew the meaning. Several others around them looked slightly puzzled as to what that meant.
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“Dammit, I hate ceremonies,” Aidan muttered to himself as straightened the collar of his dress uniform. He knew it was a requirement, for it was the official victory ceremony, as well as the induction of the new Prime Minister, Maria Shakov. He was surprised, but apparently she had been unanimously chosen, making her the youngest leader in the history of Solaris. The ceremony was taking place on the newly repaired space station, Gloria, named for the first leader of the Solaris Federation. He straightened out any wrinkles, real or imagined, from his blue and black uniform. He made the sure the saber was securely fastened to his belt, and then walked out of the room.
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Maria was nervous, very nervous. Actually, that was an understatement. She was used to being in front of cameras, having been the daughter of the Prime Minister and all. But during that time, she had never much spoken, as her father did most of the talking. This was her first speech, and no doubt it was being broadcast all over Solaris. Millions of people would be watching her. She hesitated slightly, and then walked out from behind the curtain and up to the podium.
She had been practicing her speech, and she was pretty certain that she could do it, even though she had a serious case of butterflies in her stomach. She looked out into the massive auditorium, and saw what appeared to be over a thousand people. Most of them were part of the military, as this was also a ceremony to honor the soldiers who fought and died for their nation. All of the soldiers were wearing the traditional blue-black dress uniform, and some still had dressings on their wounds. There was a small contingent of civilians, as well as several camera crews. She also saw that Captain Magno and several others from the Nirvana, including Dita were here to watch here. She drew a deep breath, drawing strength she didn’t feel, and began her speech.
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Standing at parade rest, Aidan stood next to Julia, as well as the rest of his team, listening to the speech given by the new Prime Minister. She first and foremost, honored the soldiers and all the men and women of the military, for their dedication and sacrifice. She went on how to say that without their actions, Solaris would still be under the grip of the fanatical faction that supported Earth. Aidan still knew they didn’t get all of them, and what few were left probably went into hiding. She then thanked them once again, and as one, the large group of soldiers snapped to attention and saluted. She had originally wanted to recognize him for helping her, and award him for it. He dissuaded her from that decision, saying he didn’t want to be recognized. He was part of Special Forces, which meant he no longer existed, officially that is. He preferred to remain, in his words, ‘an unknown soldier, one who is essential but unimportant in the long run.’ Frankly, he didn’t want the damn media all over him. What she said next stunned a large number of people, including him.
“Since the rebels tore the Federation asunder, this nation will hereby be reborn as the Republic of Solaris, shedding the taint that the rebels put upon it when they assassinated my father and overthrew the government.”
That was a bold move, but Aidan thought it would work in the end, as it would still be the same nation at heart. What’s more, it fostered pride in the people of Solaris, helping heal the wounds of the civil war. And he actually liked the sound of it, the Republic of Solaris.
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About half an hour after the ceremony ended, Meia caught up with Aidan, who was still in his dress uniform, although he looked slightly uncomfortable. He noticed her and gave her a quick smile.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No, I just don’t like wearing this thing,” he replied, gesturing to his uniform. “So, what do you think? About Maria’s speech that is.”
“Well, it was good, all things considered,” she replied. “She definitely has a lot of work ahead of her.”
“That she does,” he said, running a hand through his short brown hair.
“Well…” she said, not sure how go about what she was going to say. “Will you be reassigned?”
“Maybe,” he replied. “There’s a strong possibility, but not anytime soon. I‘ve received something of a vacation. How long do you plan on staying?”
“Depends, the Captain didn’t specify when we’d have to leave, so I’m unsure,” she replied.
“Are you for a trip down to the surface?” he asked. “I have a few things I’d like to take care of.”
“Sure, why not?” she replied after a few seconds.
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The sky was overcast, but Aidan was used to it, for it seemed cloudy for almost half the year. He wasn’t wearing anything military today, only a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, boots and a leather jacket for the cold. It was early November, and winter was just starting to kick in. Meia was similarly dressed. There was a slight breeze, but it was cold enough that he could see his breath. He walked across the grass, over to a gravestone that was identical to every other one in this cemetery. The only thing different about this one, was the fact that it bore the name Sakura Nakayama. It was the resting place of the person he loved.
Meia stood a little farther back, enough to give him a little privacy. He appreciated that, and he would let her know that later. He stood there for a couple of minutes before speaking up.
“Hey, Sakura, it‘s me,” he said, speaking in a soft voice, which was normally unlike him. “It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten. I’ll never forget.” He paused for a moment, before resuming. “You were the first person to truly care about me, aside from my parents. I know I’ll never get back what I lost, but I hope you will remember, wherever you are,” he said, laying a hand on the stone, which was cold to the touch. He struggled with his emotions for a moment. “I have to go now, but I won’t forget you. Happy Birthday, Sakura.” he placed the flowers down in front of her gravestone. He then drew himself up with perfect military precision, and saluted.
Just as he turned to walk away, he looked up into the sky. He saw tiny white dots slowly float down from the sky, it had started to snow. He smiled, then looked over at Meia, who was also looking at the light snowfall. “Let’s go,” he said, as he walked towards her.
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Finally completed, let me know what you think. I’m thinking about making a sequel, and I’d like to hear your input on